[Benign mediastinal teratoma with pericardial symptoms. The utility of echocardiography in diagnosis].

The authors describe the clinical case of a 21-year-old girl who was admitted to the hospital because of pericardial symptomatology. On admission, a transthoracic echocardiogram revealed moderate pericardial effusion and an anterior parenchimallike mediastinal mass, that extended as far as the main vessels and the anterior wall of the right ventricle. This report was subsequently confirmed by a computed tomography chest scan.

Ruptured aneurysms of the thoracoabdominal aorta: a case series.

Fifteen cases of ruptured thoracoabdominal aneurysm (-TAA) were encountered in 1987-July 1994. These patients included 13 males (86.6%), 2 females (13.

[Natural history and course of aneurysmal disease in patients operated on for abdominal aortic aneurysms].

This study is aimed at analyzing our experience in the evolution of aneurysmatic disease after surgical treatment of the typical subrenal abdominal aortic aneurysm. In fact in some cases we reobserved these patients for the onset of a new important dilatation involving the proximal tract of the abdominal aorta or the common iliac arteries. From 1980 to December 1992, 24 patients out of a group of 1508 patients previously submitted to an aorto-aortic or aorto-iliac reconstructive procedure using dacron prosthetic grafts were reoperated for relapsing aneurysmatic disease.

[Wall stress in the assessment of left ventricular function in surgery of abdominal aortic aneurysm. Validity and importance of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in intraoperative monitoring].

Objective: To verify the applicability and the clinical significance of left ventricular wall stress determinations by intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) during resections of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Designs: Prospective comparison of changes in left ventricular wall stress between two groups of patients with and without coronary artery disease.

Setting: Operatory room of Universitary Institute.

Spontaneous aorto-caval fistulas from ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Thirty-six cases of abdominal aortic aneurysms rupturing into the vena cava and two iliac aneurysms rupturing into iliac veins are reported. This group represents 10% of the total number of observed ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (388). Such a condition is therefore quite rare but should be considered positively because the reported mortality rate is less than with ruptured aneurysms in general.

Splanchnic artery aneurysms.

From 1970 to October 1991, 26 patients affected by splanchnic artery aneurysms were observed and treated at the Department of General and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Milan, Italy. Three splanchnic artery aneurysms were operated on in emergency. Visceral artery aneurysms are often completely silent and are generally detected during diagnostic procedures performed in order to clarify some diagnostic questions.

[The surgical prevention of pulmonary embolism. Comments on 100 patients treated by different methods].

A series of 100 patients suffering from deep venous thrombosis with prior episodes of pulmonary embolism or ilio-caval floating thrombi, submitted to surgery for the prevention of new embolic episodes, is analysed. Indications are discussed together with the various prevention techniques adopted over the past 5 years. Special attention is paid to the analysis of 11 patients operated on in the last 2 years by thrombectomy of the infra- and suprarenal vena cava.

Locoregional fibrinolysis using tissue plasminogen activator in 2 cases of acute thrombosis of the renal artery.

The use of tissue plasminogen activator gave good results in the treatment of acute coronary thrombosis. Comparable results appear to have been obtained in the first clinical trials in cases of acute thromboses of the peripheral arteries. A successful experiment in the locoregional treatment of acute thrombosis of the renal artery is reported.

[Thrombectomy of the infra- and suprarenal cava to prevent pulmonary embolism in the presence of deep venous thrombosis. Personal experience with 11 surgically-treated cases].

DVT is a fairly frequent event and often fails to be recognised. Its main complication, pulmonary embolism, is the third cause of death in Italy with more than 70,000 deaths per annum. In the presence of infra- and suprarenal floating thrombi, cases in which the application of neither intraluminal nor extraluminal filters is indicated, the treatment of choice is thrombectomy with direct surgical access to the cava.

Surgical treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm. A ten-year experience (1980-1989) referred to 1725 patients operated on.

The authors' experience of surgical management of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), in 1725 consecutive patients, operated on in a ten years period (1980-1989) is presented. Surgical indications, operative technique, and outcome of elective and emergency procedures are analyzed. A ten years follow-up period is also presented.

[Atheromatous material mobilization syndrome after thrombolytic therapy with streptokinase in acute myocardial infarct].

Streptokinase fibrinolysis is a widely accepted and applied therapy in acute myocardial infarction with good clinical and ECG results. Nevertheless this therapy is not devoid of complications that sometimes can be very serious. In this paper the Authors report the case of a patient 52 years old who has been treated with streptokinase for an acute myocardial infarction with good ECG results but that about eight hours later showed an important cholesterol embolization syndrome with visceral and lower extremity lesions.

[Clinical observations on 38 cases of inflammatory aneurysm of the abdominal aorta out of a total of 2014 operated cases].

The paper reviews 2014 cases of aneurysm of the abdominal aorta treated over the past 10 years at the Institute of General and Cardiovascular Surgery of the University of Milan directed by Prof. Ugo Ruberti, and analyses 38 which showed inflammatory characteristics. In spite of the low frequency of this type of aneurysm (1.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms surgery in over 75 years old patients. Experience in 142 cases treated between 1980-1989.

The paper describes the Authors' experience of abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery in over 75-year-old patients. One hundred and forty-two cases were operated over a 10-year period (1980-89). Seventy-two patients were treated electively and 70 underwent emergency surgery following rupture of the aneurysm.

Cardiological risk in patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery. An analysis of 523 cases.

The paper reports a consecutive series of 523 patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery, paying particular attention to the cardiological risk factor. Coronary disease was present in 167 (31.9%) cases and the overall mortality rate was 1.

[Surgery of thoraco-abdominal aneurysms. Personal experience in 35 cases].

The paper describes the authors personal experience of the surgical treatment of thoracoabdominal aneurysms. Thirty-five patients underwent surgery during the period from 1972 to the present. Operative mortality is compared according to the different surgical approaches used.

Traumatic pathology of the thoracic aorta. Personal experience based on 42 cases.

Between 1974 and 1989, 42 patients have been operated on at the Istituto di Chirurgia Generale e Cardiovascolare of University of Milan, for traumatic pathology of the thoracic aorta: in 14 cases it occurred an acute rupture at the level of aortic isthmus and in 28 cases a posttraumatic fals aneurysm. We had an operative mortality of 28% (4 cases) in the acute rupture: 3 patients died for neurological complications which were present at hospitalization. In one case appeared a serious ARDS.

Myocardial hydatid cyst ruptured into the pericardium: cross-sectional echocardiographic study and surgical treatment.

We describe a patient with a large intramyocardial hydatid cyst lying in the postero-lateral segment of the left ventricle near the atrioventricular groove level which ruptured into the pericardial sac, resulting in cardiac tamponade. Cross-sectional echocardiographic examination from a modified four-chamber apical view showed the multiloculated cyst and the breach connecting it to the pericardial sac, allowing for the definitive diagnosis and indication for emergency cardiac surgery. The risks of pericardiocentesis and invasive diagnostic procedures could thus be avoided.

Surgical treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms. Personal experience.

A series of 262 observed cases of aneurysm of the thoracic aorta is examined in which 216 cases of surgical correction were performed between 1974 and 1987. Dissecting aneurysms and post-traumatic pseudoaneurysms, although of different aetiology and morbid anatomy, are also included since the surgical technique adopted is similar in all groups. Clinically different aspects of acute and chronic lesions are analyzed.

Acute aortic dissection. Personal experience.

Aortic dissection is a catastrophic event with a high mortality rate for untreated patients. One hundred and thirteen patients with acute aortic dissection were observed in the IInd Surgical Department of Milan University from 1974 to 1985; 55 had type I and II aortic dissection and 58 had type III aortic dissection. All patients with type I and II and about 50% of patients with type III aortic dissection underwent surgical correction.

Intracavitary heart fibroma. A case of successful total excision.

Tumors of the heart are relatively rare events and fibromas represent no more than 5% of these. A central source of peripheral embolization suggests the possibility to kept in mind in the absence of other causes and is therefore worthy of closer investigation.

Acute ruptures of the thoracic aorta. Personal experience.

The statistical incidence, etiopathogenesis, diagnostics and surgical treatment of acute ruptures of the thoracic aorta are described. A personal series of 7 cases is reported; surgical techniques, benefits and risks of extracorporeal circulation during surgical treatments are analysed and discussed.

Internal mammary artery to pulmonary artery fistula.

A rare case of arteriovenous fistula between an internal mammary artery and a pulmonary artery is presented. The clinical history of recurrent bronchitis and dyspnoea during exercise, the presence of right parasternal murmur with normal heart size and normal blood gases justified the execution of an arteriovenous thoracic angiography which revealed the presence of a cirsoid aneurysm supplied by the internal and external mammary arteries. Diagnostic investigation and surgical indication in patients with the rare fistulous communication between the internal mammary artery and the systemic or pulmonary circulation are analysed.